


Finish This Fight

by ratonnhhaketon



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Death, F/M, I’m still emotional over what Scott Gimple did to my son, Season 8 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 09:49:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14186280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratonnhhaketon/pseuds/ratonnhhaketon
Summary: This world was cruel and would not stop taking until it took everyone from Tess, including the most important person to her.





	Finish This Fight

“I’m gonna finish this fight. I’m gonna kill Negan with his own damn bat, and I’m gonna enjoy it. I promise you.” The words echoed in Tess’s mind. Still, she could not believe it; her best friend, her only true friend, the only person she ever loved, gone. This world was cruel and would not stop taking until it took everyone from her.

* * *

 

_She pushed back the slightly-open door to the bathroom. “Carl, are you in here?” His tall figure whipped around to face her smaller one. He was standing in front of the mirror, bloody shirt tossed on the floor. His hands were dabbing a towel against a bloody mark on his abdomen._   
_She gasped as her hands flew to her face. “No.. no, t-this can’t happen.” She felt tears well in her eyes. “Oh my god, no.”_

_“Tess, its okay. I’ll be okay.”_

_She crossed the small space of the bathroom and stood in front of him. “No, no you fucking won’t! I know exactly what that is, Carl, you’re not gonna be okay!” She looked at him, searching his eyes for something. “When did this happen?”_

_“An hour or so ago. I was in the woods fighting off a walker and didn’t hear one behind me.” He pulled a bandage out of the medicine cabinet. “It’s just the one bite.”_

_“Does anyone else know?”_

_“No, and I didn’t want you to know either. At least not yet.”_

_“Well I was bound to find out sooner or later.” She took the bandage from his hand and pressed it delicately over the bite. “You’re sure you’re okay?”_

_He wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. “Besides some of my skin thats missing, I’m okay. I don’t feel like I’m dying yet.”_

_She let out a breath. “Okay. We’ll be okay.”_

* * *

 

Tess was now sitting in the ruined church of Alexandria with Carl lying next to her. Rick and Michonne had stepped outside to give the two of them a chance to say their final goodbyes.

Carl’s face was pale, eyes red and puffy, and his breathing shallow. She could tell he was suffering.

He took her hand. “Hey.”

She looked at him with a soft smile. “Hey.”

“You doing okay?”

Tess laughed lightly, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“You could, but I bet you already know my answer.” He tried to smile through the pain. “I love you, Tess.”

“You’re gonna make me cry, you ass.” She couldn’t help but smile through the tears that threatened to fall. “I love you too.”

“I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise me that you will beat this world. I need you to end this fight for all of us. Make Negan pay for the shit he’s done.”

Tess took both of his hands. “I’m gonna finish this fight. I’m going to kill Negan with his own damn bat, and I’m going to enjoy it. I promise you.”

Her hands let go of his and delicately cupped his cheeks. “I know this is probably going to sound very cheesy but I need this to be the last thing I say to you.” He nodded slightly for her to continue. She took a deep breath.

“I love you, Carl. I always have. You were the first real friend I’ve ever had that didn’t use me to get to my brother. You showed me what it felt like to love and be loved and I will forever be thankful for that. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.” By the end she was crying, words breaking through her tears. She could have sworn she saw a tear roll down Carl’s cheek.

Carl’s hand rested on the back of her neck and pulled her face down to his. Their lips locked together perfectly, like they were made for one another. The kiss was slow and loving. It felt like they could stop the clock and have all the time in the world for this one kiss.

After what felt like eternity they both separated for air. One final time Tess ghosted her thumb over the edge of the white gauze covering Carl’s missing eye. She stood, turned, and forced herself to walk out of the ruined building. She stopped next to Michonne who gave her a sympathetic look and lightly rubbed her back.

When the sound of one gunshot rang through the quiet town, she collapsed into Michonne’s arms and sobbed.


End file.
